Konoha High Chronicals
by LittleSaxony
Summary: A day in high school- reimagined. SasuSaku.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

**Author's Notes: Not your average high school story. Read on.**

Part One: Morning

Like every high school, Konoha High had its cliques. There were the cheerleaders, the jocks, the student council future-yuppies, and the punks, Goths, and emo kids that Sakura could never tell apart, no matter how much they insisted on a separate identity. Walking across the quad before classes began that morning, it was very obvious to see who stood where on the social hierarchy and where they all hung out. Seeing her students parceled up in their niches made Sakura feel fondly nostalgic as she turned the knob to the teacher's lounge.

There was really nothing lounge-ish about the teacher's lounge. There was a refrigerator, a few worn out couches, a microwave, a few haphazard tables and a copy machine in the corner. The washed out yellow walls were full of faded, outdated posters with slogans like "Love to Learn!" and "All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten" pasted along once-glossy paper. A lone calendar was on the wall by the window, counting down to the end of the year (three months left, or eleven weeks and three days, or fifty eight days if you wanted to get technical).

Before school the lounge was usually reasonably full, and today was no exception. Tenten was digging underneath the counter for extra paint, Naruto was chatting with Sasuke, who was reading the _Times_ over a Styrofoam cup of coffee, and Kakashi was right where Sakura needed to be- at the copy machine.

"Morning, Sakura," he greeted as she settled herself in line behind him.

"Morning, Kakashi. How's the ink in that thing?"

"It's fine… for now. I'm making packets, though. You?"

"Shakespeare quiz."

"Urgh, you're brutal."

"Don't tip them off this time, please."

"Alright, alright. They'll be mad enough at me without knowing what you've got in store for them. We're covering conic sections today and I can only imagine the blank stares."

"Aren't you moving awfully fast?"

"Yeah well, state standards you know."

"Do I ever."

"Heh, at least math is easy. Sasuke's probably got it the hardest."

"Yeah," piqued Sasuke from across the room. "Gaara got all the high kids this year. My group can't even tell me where Germany is, much less explain its participation in World War II."

"Not like they care," snorted Kakashi as he took his packets to a table and began to staple them together.

"I resent that," sniffed Sasuke.

"Oh, don't get your poli-sci panties in a bunch, Uchiha. I'm sure you'll convince at least one of them to major in history or something."

"God, if they even graduate," moaned Sakura. "Some of mine have barely mastered the paragraph."

Kakashi snickered and muttered something along the lines of "that's why I teach math," but Sasuke gave her an understanding smile, which she returned as she collected up her copies and headed out the door to her classroom.

Sakura had spent a lot of time making her room look welcoming and encourage an atmosphere of learning, and it was cleaner than most. Unlike the staff room, her posters were relatively new, with literature quotes on them or maps of the world (they still had Russia down as the Soviet Union, but the school was determined to get a few more years out of them, so Sakura had to settle with them). She had a fairly large bookshelf in the back full of classics, textbooks, or some of her own that she'd loan out to students who were interested in more challenging book reports. Her desk was neat, with its bulky computer off to one side and a potted orchid on the other. She put the quizzes down on the desk and crammed her purse into the large bottom-right drawer, being sure to lock it. She trusted the kids for the most part, but it was her opinion that one could never be too careful. Just last week, there had been a drug bust in the neighborhood around the school and Sakura suspected that some of her students may have been involved- but as long as they didn't bring it into class, she'd do her job and let the police do theirs.

The bell rang over the loudspeakers, creating a sudden shuffle from the deep depths of the school. This time a day was without a doubt her favorite; most mornings she was filled with things she wanted to say and hoped they would learn, if not from her than by picking it up in the text. Within minutes her more punctual students were already seated- they'd likely straggle in for ten minutes after the bell. After the pledge of allegiance and a few announcements from Tsunade, the principal, she gave them all a brief introduction and then passed out the quizzes, to their unconcealed disgust. As they quietly scurried to define iambic pentameter and summarize what happened between Olivia and Viola, Sakura took roll. Ito Hideki and Yamamoto Emi were absent today- the flu was still going around, although she didn't feel sorry for Emi. Hideki was nice, though. Maybe she'd let him makeup his quiz. A few minutes later, Fujiwara Kenji stumbled in late for the third time this week, so wordlessly she handed him a detention slip with his quiz. Not her rules, but Tsunade would get on her if she didn't enforce the tardy policy.

After fifteen minutes she collected quizzes and dove into a short lecture on Twelfth Night, dedicating the last twenty minutes of class to letting (making) her students act out a scene in the front of the class while she observed her victims from the back of the classroom. Up today were Sato Masaru, a bulky but silent boy whose voice cracked every few sentences, and Watanabe Reiko, a mousy little girl with glasses. Once upon a time she would have felt guilty for arranging the readings for her own personal pleasure, but she was much too amused to play fair. Besides, it wasn't like the other students weren't enjoying this too. Masaru read all of Orisino's flirtatious lines like a grocery list, not looking up from his script once. Reiko squeaked out Olivia's biting responses like she was afraid of hurting Masaru's feelings (like he had any, with the emotionless tone he was speaking in). Sakura noticed that Megumi and Saburo, a few of the drama club members, were twitching with the urge to grab up the scripts and show the rest of the 

class how it was done. Mercifully, the bell rang in the middle of the scene and the class gave a muted applause for the performers before rushing off to their next class.

The second class transpired pretty much the same as the first, except this time Tanaka Shin bolted out the door in the middle of his reading, leaving his partner and the class momentarily baffled until they heard the sounds of vomit echoing down the hall. "This happens sometimes, he's just got a little stage fright," Sakura said as she strode up to her desk to write out a hall pass. "Souta, could you please rescue him from the garbage can and escort him to the nurse's office? Shinobu, you can take his place in the reading." Their reactions were priceless. Souta grimaced but bravely did as he was told. Sakura felt for him, because even most of the staff found Kabuto, the nurse, to be a very strange man but what had to be done had to be done. Shinobu stuttered that Orisino's part was for a boy, but Sakura didn't let her off the hook.

By the time the bell rang for break, Sakura was getting thirsty, so she ran to the teacher's room quickly to grab one of Naruto's root beers that were sitting in the fridge before he noticed. If worst came to worse, she thought with a smile, she knew Sasuke would take the heat for her.

**End Notes: My mom's a teacher, so I've spent a lot of time helping and hanging out with teachers. It's funny how they're just normal people behind their educational façade. They swear, they drink, they complain, have their personality clashes, and sometimes even fall in love. This is meant to not only parody high school fics, but education and even to some extent my own high school. Up next- the school rally. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto.

**Author's Notes:** Did you ever have to go to a rally or assembly in high school? Did you love it? Did you hate it? Welcome to Konoha High- you can check out, but you can never leave, lol.

Part Two: Assembly

Sipping her root beer, Sakura glanced at the notice from her mailbox this morning.

_Staff- Don't forget that today we will be holding a rally/presentation from Planned Parenthood during third and fourth period in the gym. Attendance is mandatory. Staff seating is limited, so get there early or sit with your class. –Tsunade_

Annoyed, Sakura tossed the slip into the recycling. Now her third and fourth period classes would be a day behind, and third period in particular especially needed the time. Maybe she'd hold an after school tutoring session next week to make up for it. She didn't like to stay after school because starting from four thirty to eight thirty she blended drinks at a Starbucks across town for extra cash, but her boss was cool so he'd probably let her take a day or two off. It was the extra cash from the second job that paid the rent, so she could sink her teaching salary into professional-looking clothes for work and feeding herself.

The bell rang. Almost immediately the first students were through the door, forcing Sakura to gulp down the rest of the root beer and hurry to take roll. As soon as all were assembled, she told them to grab their bags and head for the gym. She didn't bother to have them form a line because it never worked after fifth grade but she insisted on silence in the hallways as not to disturb the other teachers. Unfortunately, third period was her hardest class. Already Kurosaki Hitomi was running her mouth with her follower friends.

"Quiet in the hall, please," called Sakura from the back of the herd. Hitomi turned to give her a contemptuous glare, and then went back to talking to her friends, only in whispers this time. _Hey, I'll take it._

They were among the first to get to the gym, so Sakura was lucky enough to grab a staff seat off to the side while her students hiked up to the top of the bleachers and squeezed in as the next class followed in their wake. Within minutes the gym echoed with juvenile chatter, cat calls and loud laughter punctuated with the occasional bark from an administrator.

Wordlessly, Sasuke slid into the seat next to her. He looked harried and annoyed, his hair shuffled out of place and tie askew. Sakura turned to give him an inquiring glance, where she noticed a few scratches on his face and on his arms, where the sleeves were rolled up to the elbow.

"Naruto and I had to break up a fight," he huffed. "One of those little gremlins got me in the cheek." He shut his eyes seething, obviously trying to restrain himself from breaking into 'inappropriate' workplace language. "I'm a history teacher, not a cop."

Sakura glanced around until she found Naruto in the middle of the gym, helping Hinata the librarian set up a microphone. He was sporting a black eye, but looked otherwise nonplussed.

"At least they didn't have a knife this time," said Sakura, laughing weakly to try to get him to smile. It didn't work.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the assembly this morning!" started Tsunade into the microphone, prompting the gym to settle into a state of dulled roar. "Let's give a big Konoha High welcome to our presentation team today from…" she paused for effect, a drum roll that never came. "Planned Parenthood!"

Beside her, Sasuke groaned but the student body clapped politely. The lights were dimmed and a movie was projected onto a large screen on the opposite side of the gym. It was melodramatic at best, featuring g photogenic teens using dated slang in a pathetic attempt to relate to their audience. The plot climaxed when Aiko realized that her unsafe sexual practices had dire consequences. At this point, the film was stopped and more squeaky-clean looking young adults tumbled out onto the gym floor for a one-sided discussion about abstinence and proper condom use.

Sakura's eyes slid over to look at the other staff. Kakashi had left his seat and was over in the corner, chatting with Sgt. Huuga Neji, the resident parole officer. By the looks of their hand gestures, their conversation had to do with riot crowd-breaking skills. Hinata looked riveted by the film and Naruto looked riveted by her; the darkness of the gym had given him an opportunity to gape at her unabashedly without students noticing. Sai, who taught art in one of the portables on the fringes of campus, was busy sketching at something. To her left, Sasuke looked bored to the point of frustration. When he noticed her eyes upon him, he relaxed a little bit and reached into his pants pocket. Pulling out a small notepad, he jotted something down and passed it to her.

_This is degrading. The staff shouldn't have to sit through this. It's not like we need it. Those little punks are getting way more action than me anyway._

Sakura smiled at his frankness and took the pen from him.

_I know, have you seen Hiroshi and Arai? Ten bucks they're doing it._

His response:

_If I see one more hormonal teenage couple swabbing spit in the hallways, I think I'm going to resign._

_Please don't. The liberal arts department wouldn't be the same without you._

He smirked just a little bit at that.

_Got any plans for lunch?_

This caught Sakura off guard. Sasuke was universally admired by the female staff, and while Sakura had always been attracted to him their relationship had never evolved past a professional friendship, aside from a few flirty remarks she had tossed his direction at the staff Christmas party. Nonetheless, an invitation was an invitation.

_No._

_Want to run to Subway? I'll drive._

_Sounds great : )_

By this time, the Planned Parenthood team had finished their talk about the unwanted pregnancy and the cheerleaders came bouncing out. This was probably Sakura's least favorite time during assemblies: the rally. Pep rallies were a longstanding tradition at Konoha High, and they always got Sakura thinking about her own time as a student at this very high school. She had sat through rallies as a freshman, but the next year she befriended Yamanaka Ino who convinced her to go out for the squad. Sakura wouldn't call herself a natural performer like Ino, but she had made a good cheerleader, excelling at dancing and tumbling. However, Ino had managed to make the experience difficult by ruling the cheerleaders- nay, the entire school- with a social iron fist. Hardly a day passed without being steeped in drama, and while Sakura was still good friends with Ino, watching the next generation was always bittersweet.

Now that she was thinking about it, Sakura was struck by just how many of her fellow staff members had attended Konoha High themselves when they were young. Sasuke and Naruto had been in her graduating class, although she hadn't known them at the time, Ino worked up in the attendance office, and Hinata had been in some of her classes. Lee, the head of the physical education department, had graduated the year before she did, along with Officer Hyuuga. Shikamaru in the computer lab and Shino in the biology department had been in the science club when Sakura was there. Heck, even Kakashi had gone to Konoha; if Sakura's memory served, he had been on the basketball team, but he had graduated a few years before she entered the school as a freshman. Off the top of her head, only Gaara and Sai had gone to different schools- Suna High School and Root Academy for the Arts, respectively.

In true Konoha fashion, after the cheerleaders came the student council, who tried (fruitlessly) to excite their unwilling constituents about the upcoming school events. The football team had more success in rallying cheers when one of the jocks dressed up as the opposing team's mascot and was pounded around the gym in an almost gladiatorial fashion. This week it was the Konoha Flames vs. the Suna Racoons. Out of the staff, only Naruto and Lee actually looked excited. Hinata looked mortified at the insinuation of violence, her hand over her mouth as the quarterback in a raccoon costume- a polite boy in Sakura's sixth period class- took another blow to the face from his teammates in the name of school spirit.

Soon it was over and Tsunade dismissed the students for lunch. Sasuke, Sakura, and the other staff made a mad dash for the door before the first students had time to scramble off the bleachers. Sakura practically ran to her classroom to grab her purse and met Sasuke by his car in the parking lot a few minutes later, winded and out of breath.

"Hurry," he said. "Get in."

She nodded. The lunch hour was short- only an hour, or fifty three minutes at this point, and they could not afford to waste time.

Sasuke's car was a reflection of compromising taste with salary. He had probably bought it used because it was at least ten years old, but the understated slate finish was unscratched and the windows were clean. The interior was vacuumed and almost empty, except for a few CD cases and an evergreen air freshener. Sasuke started the car and then they were on the road.

For a few minutes, the two teachers sat in awkward silence, except for the hum of the radio playing the latest Utada Hikaru single. Sakura didn't know what to say; she felt uncomfortably like a teenager again. For a long time she had imagined herself in just this very position, being whisked away with Sasuke for lunch and she got the feeling that they both knew it. She had never expected that he would actually agree to something like this, much less propose it himself but here they were, sneaking sidelong glances at each other on the way to Subway and for the first time, Sakura felt that maybe there was more there between them than just an armrest.

Sasuke was the first to break the silence. "How did you like the rally?" he mumbled, not taking his eyes off the road.

"It was loud," she replied. "But the talent crop is good. Those were some ambitious toe-touches."

"You were a cheerleader in high school, weren't you?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said. "It was kind of fun, I guess."

"Ino was a bitch."

"Pretty much. You remember her?"

"I was in the chess club."

"Oh." The chess club had been Ino's particular victims of social terrorism. "The great Uchiha Sasuke in the chess club? I can't see it."

"Why is that so hard to fathom?"

"Because, you don't seem like the chess club type. You're tall, and, you know, clever and stuff." She could have said so much more, but didn't know quite want to make the jump from a friendly comment to professing her secret devotion to him, so she ended it there.

"I wasn't always tall."

They were at Subway. Sasuke parked the car and the two teachers shuffled into the restaurant.

**End Notes:** As I think I mentioned in the last installment, Konoha High School in this fic is based partly on my own high school. Rallies were a big thing, and they were actually fun sometimes. We got out of class, anyway.


End file.
